The Los Angeles Lakers won their first ever Las Vegas Summer League Championship on Monday night, as they defeated the Portland Trail Blazers for their six consecutive victory to close out the tournament.
No. 2 overall pick Lonzo Ball was named the MVP of the tournament, as he recorded the only two triple-doubles in the history of the league, but due to a calf injury Ball was not able to play in the final game.
With Ball out, the Lakers 27th overall pick Kyle Kuzma picked up the load, scoring 30 points to go along with 10 rebounds on 11-of-16 shooting, knocking down big shot after big shot.
Kuzma was named the MVP of the championship game, and as a result opened the eyes of a lot of basketball fans to his potential in the NBA.
One person who saw what Kuzma is capable of is Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant, who also recently won an NBA Championship and MVP of the Finals honors. Durant recently showed Kuzma some love on Twitter after his Summer League performance:
Oh yea "you can call me anything but don't forget to call me an MVP and a champ"-Kuzma
I feel u my g ????— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) July 19, 2017
Kuzma then responded to Durant’s tweet:
???????????? https://t.co/xsU60xI6F1
— kuz (@kylekuzma) July 19, 2017
Kuzma averaged 21.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting 51.4 percent from the field and 48 percent from three-point range in the Summer League, which earned Second Team All-Summer League honors.
He demonstrated versatility on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor, and looks like he could be another late first round gem for the Lakers, who have mastered the art of that in recent years.